You may think you love the First Amendment. You may get misty-eyed just thinking about it.

It calls to mind Woodward and Bernstein unraveling the Watergate scandal, Dr. King leading the March on Washington, Voltaire proclaiming, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” (Voltaire didn’t actually say that, but he probably wouldn’t mind that you think he did.)

But sooner or later, you will come across something that will make you wonder just what’s so great about freedom of speech.

Gentle reader: It being St. Patrick’s Day, we want to talk a bit about him, but also to tell you of another of Ireland’s (and Scotland’s) saints about whom you probably haven’t heard.

But first we must correct a mistake from the column of 3 March kindly called to our attention by our neighbor, Don Matthews, in which we intended to write billions but instead wrote millions, as shown here:

As long-time readers know, the old curmudgeon is well and truly fixed in the status of octogenarianism, and as such he has had ample opportunity to observe the various vagaries of human nature, much of which he has come to understand and appreciate, but there is one aspect which not only puzzles him, but angers him, and that is the attitude so many of our fellows have toward sickness, those afflicted with illness or disability.

In 1969, five Roane County families met to discuss the lack of services for their developmentally disabled children and grandchildren.

Two years later, in March 1971, the group formally organized the Exceptional Children’s Day Care. C.R. Lay, grandfather of a young man with Down syndrome, spearheaded these early efforts. Eventually, the program took the name of Lay’s grandson.

It’s now clear that of all the stories that will grace the pages of the Roane County News this year probably none will be more controversial than that of school consolidation.

A couple of weeks ago, I would have given the honor of most controversial issue to the aquatic weed problem, which is either a problem or not a problem, depending on who you ask, but is certainly controversial.